


Tuition Bill Due

by Irusu



Category: Original Work
Genre: 3D render, Art, Gen, mild wounding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26754055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irusu/pseuds/Irusu
Summary: So why does one become a space mercenary?
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	Tuition Bill Due

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SouthernContinentSkies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthernContinentSkies/gifts).



  


[Click here for a larger version](https://ao3.pictures/original/space-merc-1200.jpg)  


**Author's Note:**

> This is originally a [3D render](https://ao3.pictures/original/space-merc-render.jpg). The background isn't mine, nor is the lighting associated with it--it came as a set piece--but I added the god rays and the subtle reddish lights coming in from stage right to provide a bit of contrast and drama on the figure, and frankensteined her outfit out of various pieces of gear I had in my wearables collection. She's got no helmet because I didn't have one that didn't look stupid. Other than that, I added the wound, did some touchup overpainting in Photoshop to clear up clipped-through areas and fix other areas, and then worked at post-processing to push the lighting and texture, and to make the figure more of a focal point. And wow, that lighting is seriously reminding me of 1980s Michael Whelan SF covers. I'm going to have to remember those settings. (The wound may not be that realistic, but I just Could Not Deal today with looking at photos of actual wounds for reference, so made it up.)
> 
> Because I dislike most of the basic pre-designed 3D faces you get on female characters, which look more like models than space mercenaries, I spent some time redesigning her face to look more lived-in, and I spent some time with a skin builder to give her skin character and texture. Which is where actual character comes in, and the happy accidents I love in art that actually end up contributing more to a piece than you'd expect. 
> 
> I screwed up on the skin builder by forgetting to give her eyebrows, and when I went back in to do that, the builder glitched and reverted her torso to standard, but left her head and arms the way I'd built it, and added the extra glitches of the white sections. I chose to leave that in instead of rebuilding her skin, because looking at it, it started building a bit of story in my head: she's a workaday space merc, probably ex-military but left after doing her tour of duty, and joined with a mercenary company because that was what she did best. It's not like it pays a great deal, so when she's injured she can't afford the premium synthskin that matches your skin tone and blends seamlessly, and has to deal with the Close Match (TM) model. Also, the age spots I gave her with the skin builder ended up looking like splash damage scars on her face, which fits.
> 
> I also made her a bit older, since again I dislike that most of the default 3D models all look 22, which fits in with this being a post-military career and made me think: why is she still doing this dangerous job? Well, you know, there's being an adrenaline junkie and all that, but that's a characteristic used in all sorts of action characters and I think it's way more interesting if she's got a kid in college. Gotta pay that tuition bill _somehow_ , right?
> 
> And the last screwup I made which ended up contributing to her character is that I forgot to shorten her nails (again...female 3D models tend to come with glamour nails for whatever reason). And while touching up the gun, when I realized I'd done that, I started thinking...why would a space mercenary have lovely nails like that? I figured they're her one point of vanity, and that she probably splurged a bit when getting the synthskin over her previous injuries and got them replaced or augmented with synthetics so they'd be sturdy. This might be projection on my part _looks at broken nails ruefully_. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!


End file.
